7 Types of Rich Media Ads that Can Attract More Eyeballs

The most crucial element of any marketing strategy is to attract more consumers. And with today’s buyers becoming increasingly active online to pre-research the product or service they wish to purchase, it has become even more important for marketers and brands to adapt online advertising (ad) techniques that instantly grab the attention of the target audience and provide them with what they want. 

Let us support the above statement with facts. A study reveals that as many as 88% of the buyers pre-research before purchasing online or in-store. This number is undoubtedly considerable for marketers to look out for more attention-grabbing techniques which can help lure the audiences and convert them into buyers. This emerging need for innovative advertising solutions has given birth to rich media ads. The same study also states that brands and marketers are shifting towards different types of rich media ads because of their robust performance and better ROI.

In this piece, we will be talking about some inspiring examples of rich media ad formats. But before we move onto the list of the best examples, let us understand what exactly are rich media ads.

What are Rich Media Ads?

The term rich media refers to any ad that includes advanced interactive features like video, audio, animation, or other elements that encourage users to interact with the advertisement. They are said to increase engagement with ease and reduce ‘Banner Blindness’ when compared to standard display ads, making them the new multimedia banners.

This is because of the ability of different types of rich media ads to offer infinite possibilities of incorporating the message and presenting it in an impactful way. Further, they easily blend with different screens to offer a seamless user experience. 

Here are the different types of rich media ads.

• In-Page: Banner ads that are displayed within the page on billboard, leaderboard, or a sidebar. Outstream video ads are a type of in-page rich media ad.
• In-Stream: Video ads that are displayed before, in between or at the end of the video content. Also known as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll.
• Out of the Page: Usually initiated by the user behaviour. Can be seen in the form of pop-ups or expandable ads.

7 Rich Media Ad Formats You Must Know Of

1.Banner Ads

Banner ads are usually fixed dimension ads that appear on a web page. While the convenience to create such ads make it a preferred choice among marketers and advertisers, incorporating rich media elements grabs the attention of the audiences and urges them to interact with the ad. Here are some examples of rich media elements to include in banner ads.

• Quiz
• Reveal
• 3D
• Hotspot
• Carousel

Features of Banner Ads

• Easy to load
• Low creation cost
• Long-term flexible solution
• Medium to high cost per impression

2.Interstitial Ads

Interstitial ads are among the best examples of rich media advertising that hook the audience. They are highly interactive full-screen ads strategically designed to appear at the natural transition points while the audiences surf the internet or use a mobile application. Their full-screen appearance is what differentiates them from other rich media advertising examples on Google Display Network and other Display Ad Networks. Interactive elements in such ads include the following.

• Sign-Up
• Puzzle
• Flash sale
• Catalogue
• Gyroscope
• Video wall

Features of Interstitial Ads

• Better ROI
• High impressions
• Enhanced viewability
• High CTR and conversion rates

3.Responsive Ads

As the name says, they are highly responsive in terms of size, appearance, and format, and automatically adjust to look good on both desktop and mobile screens. This enables them to easily fit the ad space on the Google Display Network along with other networks. Among the best examples of rich media ads, responsive ads contain a short headline, long headline, description, marketing image, logo, and a CTA. Marketers and advertisers make use of such ads when their primary goal is performance. Interactive elements in responsive ads include,

• Carousel
• Survey and quiz
• 180-degree images
• 360-degree video

Features of Responsive ads

• Easy to load
• Highly flexible
• Broader reach
• Automatically adjusts
• Best coupled with remarketing

4.Video Ads

One of the best examples of rich media ads, video advertising is becoming a popular choice among marketers and advertisers for their proven effectiveness. An enhancement to it is the In-Banner Video ads (IBV). This combines image + video in a single ad unit to deliver a high-impact ad experience. Today, they are an integral part of any brand campaign. They allow sharing large amounts of information, which might not be possible via images, ensuring that the ads get the engagement they deserve. Types of interactive elements include,

• Reveal
• Video carousel
• Picture in picture
• Pop-up Banner

Features of Video Ads

• Easy to share
• High visibility 
• High conversion rate
• Conveys huge amount of information

5.Expandable Ads

Expandable ads are one of the examples of the rich media ads on Google Display Network along with other popular networks that expand from their displayed ad size for better visibility. They are known to help overcome banner blindness with a 2-in-1 ad real estate to explore for detailed messaging. Expandable ads are differentiated by the actions that prompt the expansion. These include,

• Scroll
• Reveal
• Rollover
• Video + image

Features of Expandable Ads

• High impact
• Improved ROI and CTR
• Encourage user engagement
• Larger ad space for detailed information

6.Page Takeover Ads

Also called skins, page take-over ads appear in the background or both sides of the webpage, giving the advertiser 100% SOV on the page and encouraging the user to perform the desired action. Adding engaging elements takes it to the next level, ensuring better brand recall and user engagement as they are hard to miss. Please note that skins are unique ad types and only available on a few renowned ad builders like Airtory. Here is a list of elements that can be used in such types of rich media ads to create exclusive experiences for desktop and mobile users.

• Video skin
• Sliding skin
• Static skin
• Transition skin
• Wallpaper skin

Features of Page Takeover Ads

• High impact and CTR
• Drives more traffic
• Great for brand awareness

7.Dynamic Creative Ads

One of the best attention-grabbing rich media ads where the ad content changes on the basis of certain parameters set by the advertiser using the ad management tools like Airtory. These parameters could be location, language, online activity, weather, date/time, among others. You can elevate these Rich Media ads to the next level by adding interactive elements such as,

• Ripple
• Theatre
• Vote
• Likert Scale
• Display shelf
• In-Banner video

Features of Dynamic Ads

• High impact
• Improved CTR
• More information
• Room for creativity

Why are High Performance Rich Media Ads Important?

Over the years, marketers and advertisers have learnt that when it comes to brand awareness and conversion rate, rich media ads work the best. Here is an insight into their benefits.

• Broad reach
• Room for creativity
• Advanced user analytics
• Increased brand awareness
• Enhanced interaction rate
• Great consumer engagement
• Outperform the standard ads

Ready to create high impact rich media advertising?

If the given information has inspired you to create rich media ads for your business, then what is the wait for? Start exploring suitable ad formats on rich media ad platforms and create next-level advertising campaigns.

---